


Pot Brownies

by Faefauna



Category: ONF (Band)
Genre: Accidental Drug Use, Attempt at Humor, Being Shot At, Chased, Death Threat, Dialogue Heavy, M/M, Mature rating for use of drugs and language, Roommates to lovers, Slowing Time, Time Manipulation, Traveling, Unknown threat, mention of bruises, mention of small wounds, mention of violence, tags will update with next chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27658454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faefauna/pseuds/Faefauna
Summary: All Changyoon wanted to do was get a little closer to his new roommate Seungjun.And he thought baking brownies would be the perfect activity for that.Then how did they end up traveling to another city on some weird mission?
Relationships: Lee Changyoon | E-Tion/Lee Seungjun | J-Us
Comments: 8
Kudos: 16





	1. The Mistake

“Why did you want to do this today?” Seungjun groaned when he came home, throwing his bag on the table with a loud thud.

“It’s only been a few weeks since I moved in in a rush and we haven’t hung out at all, this will be fun.” Changyoon tried to sound encouraging but was only met with a slight glare and a sigh. 

“I get you, but I’m tired. I had dance practice until late, which made me forget the time. And then I had to rush out to get all the ingredients you texted me before the shops closed.” 

“Yeah, well, now you can rest and have fun making brownies.” 

“Can’t we do this tomorrow?”

“No, I’m busy tomorrow, just go shower and I’ll set everything up,” Changyoon pushed.

With a loud groan Seungjun tried to telepathically relay, ‘please, oh god, just let me sleep’. Changyoon smiled, getting the message clearly, and fully ignoring it, waving the other to go wash up quickly. 

It had indeed not been long since they moved in together, they barely even knew one another. Changyoon was desperately looking for an apartment as he had just finished college and needed to move out of the dorms. Changyoon being Changyoon; he had waited too long to start looking for a place and eventually had to turn to his friends to see if they could help him. Luckily, one of his old buddies knew someone that needed a second tennant and so Changyoon was introduced to Seungjun. Their first meeting was a little more than awkward. Changyoon’s friend was busy, so he had just dropped him off at the apartment complex and wished him good luck before instantly driving off.  
So Changyoon stood there, in front of a big row of doorbells with names, wondering what he was looking for while gathering up the courage to just go: "Hello I’m that guy someone told you about, can I come in?" without making it sound incredibly weird. 

He nearly found all his courage before he got jumpscared by someone clearing their voice behind him. He swiftly moved around and was met with a confused, pretty looking guy with big eyes and brown hair. Baggy training clothes hung over his slender build and he had a big green bag thrown over his shoulder.

“Can I pass?” the stranger asked.

“Oh, sure.” Changyoon stepped aside to let the other slot a card over the sensor connected to the front door. He eyed the name tags, trying to find the code he needed. 

“Can I help you? You seem a bit lost,” the other asked kindly.

“Ah, uhm, I’m looking for someone named…” Changyoon just remembered he never got a name from his friend, which is probably why he felt aimless staring at the doorbells before.

“...Named?” the other asked as Changyoon fell silent.

“I have no clue.”

“Well then I get why you looked so lost. Do you have a description? I know most people that live here.”

“Nope.”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“Uhm…”

“Am I going to have to call the poli-”

“No, no wait I swear I’m no one dodgy.” Hearing that come out of his mouth, Changyoon realized just how suspicious it sounded, which was confirmed by the other pulling up an eyebrow, so he quickly continued with: “My friend set me up with someone that needed a roommate and we were going to meet today, but that idiot never gave me a name nor showed me a photo.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes I swear.” The nervous smile Changyoon put up to not look as questionable definitely didn’t help ease the other’s ever growing distrust.

“What’s your name?”

At least it was a question he knew an answer to: “Changyoon.”

“Oh, well then I’m the one you were looking for. I’m Seungjun.” The sassy expression of the other quickly turned excited and he grew a big smile as he stuck out his hand. Even though Changyoon had definitely not processed what just happened, he shook the other’s hand. “Nice to meet you," he mumbled. 

“Well then, come with me.” Seungjun finally swiped the card and the front door slid open. The building had recently been renewed so while the exterior seemed a little old, the inside looked modern. It was all painted a fresh coat of blinding white and the LED lights, that jumped on with a movement sensor, definitely helped add to the bloom coming off the walls. Changyoon could already envision himself coming home drunk one day and freaking out, feeling he had died and entered heaven.

After silently hopping up three sets of stairs, they went through another door and down a hallway. The hallways were definitely a lot less fancy than the entrance hall, and some parts of the ceiling were still being worked on. Changyoon nearly walked into Seungjun as he stopped in front of one of the doors. Switching from the card to a key attached to the same ring he opened the door and gestured to Changyoon to come with him. They chatted for a bit but since neither really had another option they quickly accepted to live together. They got along fine, both weren’t ones to bite back their words, and they kind of enjoyed bickering. Since both were very busy they hadn’t gotten to know each other well. So to fix that, Changyoon had suggested baking together. His school friend said it would definitely work, forgetting Changyoon had never baked in his life. 

Hearing the shower rushing, he went to scour Seungjun’s bag for the ingredients he still missed. Inside was a bright yellow supermarket bag. He opened it and found the sugar, packet of vanilla extract, the cocoa powder and the flour. Seungjun’s, presumed, aggression with which he had packed these in his overstuffed bag, had made some of the ingredients fall out of the shopping bag. For example: the flour, which seemed tucked into the side, next to awful smelling sport clothes. He placed the ingredients all on the counter next to the eggs, salt and baking powder. 

Seungjun was taking way too long, annoyingly long. So Changyoon just started to organize more. Putting all the perfect amounts into a bowl, so all that was left to do was just put a mixer through it. He set all the ingredients back in their respective place. Even after cleaning everything, Seungjun was still not here. 

“Dude" -Changyoon knocked on the bathroom door- "did you die?”

“Do I not have to bake brownies if I did?”

“Why are you so opposed to making chocolate treats?” 

“I am not.”

“Are you opposed to me?”

“I’m opposed to activity,” Seungjun whined.

“Come on, I put everything out, just humor me and put a mixer through it.”

“You’re sick, you should rest, no baking.”

“It’s just a cold, get out or I’ll come in.”

“You sound more nasally than ever and couldn’t even taste yesterday.”

“You’re paying for a new door. 1...2...-”

“Fine, fine, I’ll come.” Seungjun quickly opened the door. Changyoon stepped in, grabbed the other's frail wrist -to not let him backtrack on his words- and dragged him to the kitchen, as if making brownies was some horrible punishment. This was probably one of the saddest dates Changyoon had in a while: Making your partner forcibly stand in the kitchen as he -against his will- mixes powders into a slimy substance, while you bombard him with questions he is too tired to answer; isn’t exactly the ideal ‘bonding exercise’. But after Seungjun had accepted his fate it actually became quite fun, they had more in common than they thought. They shared their love for music and Seungjun was surprised to find out Changyoon had a bit of a dancers background. They wanted to get to know each other more, but just ended up gushing about music and artists until the oven started beeping. 

"What happened to them?" Changyoon asked in amazement. The big brown chocolate in the oven in front of them hadn't risen, it looked more like a weird brick. 

“Well, I painstakingly made them, at your request," Seungjun said with a grin, "Try them." 

“I’ll die.”

“I’m not eating them either, and you have such a heavy cold you won’t taste much anyway.” 

“True. Still, I might not be able to smell anything but I can still taste, somewhat. But hey! Maybe they will taste fine, don’t judge a brownie by its looks,” Changyoon said, trying to be positive about this disaster.

“That joke really doesn’t work…”

“Well,” Changyoon ignored the other, “are we going to try them?”

“ _We_?” 

“Then how about rock, paper scissors? Loser has to take a bite.” Changyoon held out his hand to start the game, and Seungjun wasn’t going to say no to a competition. Three rounds were played before Seungjun bursted into laughter as his hand was a fist and Changyoon mimicked a scissor. 

“What, no, why?!” Changyoon yelled.  
Still laughing loudly, Seungjun excitedly got the brick out of the oven and cut off a nice slice. 

“Welp, it’s made with love, eat up,” Seungjun sang; holding out his hand with the piece of questionable food. 

Very reluctantly, Changyoon took the piece and bit off a small part. "Oh god, that’s awful,” he hurled, making Seungjun only laugh louder. He somehow managed to swallow it down, just to prove a point. What point exactly, he didn’t know, but it seemed right. 

Seungjun gave Changyoon a pat on the shoulder, “shall I leave it out? In case you want any more?” 

“Please,” Changyoon smiled, picked up the chocolate brick and walked to the trash can. 

“Well you were correct, it was a fun activity," Seungjun grinned. Changyoon rolled his eyes, he couldn’t get mad at the gorgeous smile, even though he really wanted to call him out. Instead, he went to sit on their couch in the small living room attached to the kitchen. Seungjun went back to his room and took his time doing his lengthy skincare routine. Nearly an hour had passed before he came back and went to clean his bag.

Changyoon scrolled through his phone the entire time until he started to feel a tad woosy. Maybe he was just tired, or the brownies really were poisonous, he thought to himself, giggling at his own dumb assumptions. 

“Why did you make me buy flour if we still had some?” Seungjun came walking up to him.

“We didn’t have any. I used the one you bought.”

“No you didn’t, it’s still in the bag, unopened,” Seungjun pulled up an eyebrow. 

“No, I swear I used it. I took it out of your bag.” Changyoon got up and went to the cupboard, grabbing the ‘flour’ he used. Seungjun, went quiet and looked at Changyoon in pure disbelief. “Can you really not smell anything…?” 

“Why are you talking about that all of the sudden?” Changyoon asked and went to take a deep whiff of the contents of the plastic package he was holding. With a quick swipe Seungjun ripped it away, “Idiot, don’t.”

“Why?”

“This shit smells heavily like weed.” Seungjun held the package closed tight, getting nauseous of the smell.

“Alright. One, I couldn’t have known that since I can’t smell anything currently. Two, you didn’t notice either. And three, why the fuck are you carrying drugs with you?!”

“You had mixed the cocoa powder with it already so it wasn’t that noticeable. And how could you not have, at least, questioned the very lackluster packaging? What shop sells unbranded flour in cheap kitchen wrapping?!”

“I don’t know, alright. It’s fucking flour, why am I supposed to go all Sherlock Holmes about that?!” Changyoon instantly quieted down, their loud voices were giving him a headache. “And answer my question about the drugs. Take whatever you want, but it’s pretty illegal here and I don’t want to go to jail.”

“Yeah about that, that wasn’t my bag apparently. Because I had to rush out I took the wrong one with me.”

“Oh, so we stole someone else's drugs and baked them into brownies.”  
They just stared at each other, realizing that that was indeed the situation. Seungjun started to notice Changyoon's eyes weren’t looking as clear as before. “Dude, go sit back down,” he suggested.

“How are we going to fix this?”

“Again, sit down first alright,” Seungjun ordered and dragged the other to the couch before sitting him down. “You’ll feel dizzy soon, you took a small bite but there was a fair amount of ‘flour’ in there.” 

“What if they find us? What if they are mad?” Changyoon said hastily.

“They probably will find us.”

“Why are you so awfully calm?”

“Why are you so paranoid? Just relax alright, it’ll be fine. I’m sure they are nice about it,” Seungjun tried to calm the other.

“Were they from your dance team?”

“No. There were a few other teams this time so there were a lot of bags just laying around, because we still don’t have goddamn lockers.”

“Oh my god,” Changyoon, started laughing at how dumb this whole situation was. 

“Are you alright?”

“No idea…,” Changyoon giggled before remembering something, “How are you so sure they will find us?”

“Well… my bag has one of those ‘if lost bring to:’ labels inside.”

Again Changyoon bursted out into laughter, making Seungjun a little more concerned. “Shall we just… watch a movie, see if your high calms down at all? We’ll figure this out later," he offered; finding Changyoon's current state not the best to have a proper conversation.

“Oh! Yes, let’s watch Bee Movie.” Changyoon said excitedly.

“Anything but that, please.”

“No, let’s watch, it’s a good movie.” Changyoon pulled Seungjun onto the couch and stared at the TV. Seungjun just looked more confused, he was glad he didn’t have to see the movie, but Changyoon seemed so enthusiastic about it that he wanted to help, “It’s not going to turn on by itself…”

Without saying a word, Changyoon nodded and grabbed the remote to scroll through Netflix until he found what he was looking for. Seungjun groaned when the first sentence about the law of aviation started. He wanted to leave so badly but got stuck when Changyoon hugged his arm and laid his head on Seungjun’s shoulder; laughing stupidly at his own comments about bees wearing clothes. His giggling stopped when he had a sudden realization: “What if it isn’t their wings making the buzzing noise, like they would just be going nyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh the whole time with their mouths.”

Seungjun was just dumbfounded at that and started chuckling. “But we know it's their wings.”

“How?” 

“Science.” 

“Alright,” the older agreed and continued being engrossed. Seungjun laid his head on Changyoon’s, trying his best to zone out so he didn’t have to watch a crossbreed romance story. He somehow managed to do that almost the whole movie long, only sometimes humming agreements to more of Changyoon’s weird revelations. He woke up when the other moved away as the credits rolled. 

“I want cheesecake,” Changyoon announced instantly.

“I’m not leaving you alone to get that, nor am I taking you out while you are high as fuck.”

“But I need cheesecake so bad, without mushrooms though.”

Seungjun was now just surprised at how many times Changyoon managed to make his brain short circuit in one evening. “Where did mushrooms come in?”

“Dude, mushrooms are gross.”

“I know that but what do they have to do with cheesecake?”

“They don’t mix.” Changyoons tone was serious.

“No, I get that,” Seungjun said slowly for the other to understand. “But in what situation would they serve cheesecake with mushrooms.”

“Hopefully none because it’s a horrible combo.”

“Yeah true, I’ll just... agree.”

“Good,” Changyoon said, satisfied, “I really don’t like raisins.”

“Raisins?!” 

“Yeah, cheesecake with raisins is awful, you just agreed.”

“You know what, let’s go sleep.” Seungjun tried to catch Changyoon but he avoided him and scuffled to the kitchen; looking like a racoon as he scoured through their cupboards for snacks. He found a half opened package of crisps somewhere and sat back down. Seungjun couldn’t help but find him incredibly cute as he mindlessly munched away. He just started to play into the weird high ranting, agreeing that mittens were definitely weird and that they would get pizza with olives tomorrow, among other things. 

“So are you done eating?” Seugjun asked after another hour of some of the weirdest conversations he had in awhile. Changyoon nodded and stood up. Just to make sure he would be safe in bed, Seungjun kept an eye on him until he was tucked under the sheets.

“You know,” Changyoon said right before Seungjun went to close the door.

“‘Sup?”

“You’re really fucking cool.”

“...Alright.”

“I like your hair.”

“Sure... goodnight.” Seungjun said and closed the door before another rant could start.

Changyoon chuckled to himself for a bit longer before falling asleep finally.

\-------------

“Was yesterday a dream?” Changyoon groaned when walking into the kitchen, quickly grabbing water and sitting at the kitchen table, across from Seungjun, who was playing on his phone. 

“What do you mean? And also how are you feeling?”

“I'm fine. But did I really bake pot brownies by accident and then forced you to watch the Bee movie, of all things?”

“Sounds about right, you were really into the movie. Yesterday was kinda fun however.”  
Changyoon rolled his eyes remembering his actions. “Let’s not forget you stole drugs,” he added.

“I didn’t steal anything.”

“Well they didn’t give or sell it to you, so what would you classify it as.”

“It was on accident, let’s hope they don’t mind," Seungjun said nervously, "We can’t really ‘give it back’. And with the amount you used we can’t really pay them back either. I feel it’s definitely above our monthly budget.”

“Well, what are we going to do?” Changyoon asked, getting back up and finding things for breakfast.

“I don’t know. But I have to go to college, I’ll think of something while I’m there.”

Changyoon munched on some crackers and turned towards Seungjun. “When is your break?” he asked.

“My last exam is next week. After that, my summer vacation starts basically.”

“Alright,” Changyoon said and stared at the table, deep in thought.

“Why do you ask?”

“In case we have to run.”

“Relax. It’s not gonna come to that. I’ll figure something out.”

Seungjun looked calm, but Changyoon noticed it was just a front. His smile seemed a little too casual and his eyes were distracted. He quickly gathered his things and set off to his last week of college. Trying to distract himself, Changyoon went back to job hunting. 

They both didn't find a solution. They laid out the money they had, but without risking not making rent soon, they didn't have enough to be able to pay any amount of drugs. It was quiet for a couple days, Seungjun used his time studying and Changyoon was the biggest ball of nerves as he went to job interviews or daydreamed about being murdered by angry drugspeople. 

After skipping a few dance practices -to make more time for his studies- Seungjun had finally gone to one and was now on his way back. To make sure he would sleep well and rest for his exam tomorrow; Changyoon went to cook a hefty meal with whatever they had in their cupboards. 

"I'm home," Seungjun groaned.

"Welco-," Changyoon cut himself off, "Are you alright?!" he asked and rushed over. He cupped Seungjun's face to inspect the damages. A bruise gave the side of his face and nose an ugly hue. Eyeing the rest, Seungjun was clutching his waist and there was dirt on his clothes.

"Yeah, I'm pretty alright. Your food isn't though," Seungjun informed, pointing past Changyoon to the pot that was starting to overcook. Seungjun's hand was chafed, the other figured he must've fallen over. After hurrying back to turn everything off; Chanyoon got out a medkit. 

"Come, on the couch, you," he commanded and walked to the living room. Seungjun sighed, but followed.

"Who did this?" Changyoon wanted to know, feeling the urge to punch the person that painted the other’s face.

"The owners of the bag I took last week…" Seungjun mumbled back. 

Changyoon had started to hope that they would get away with it. "Ohno…" he sighed, realizing they hadn't.

"They said to pay them back double."

"Double?!"

"Yeah, I don't know! That's what they told me and I can't really argue," Seungjun growled. "We can hardly go to the police."

"Can't we?"

"Hey, policeman, we stole someones drugs and used half of it. They want their money back but we can't pay. It was all an accident we swear," Seungjun said in a sarcastic tone.

"Alright, point made. How much is it?" he asked hesitantly. When he heard the amount, his heart sank, that was definitely more than they currently had and taking out a loan would take longer than the deadline the people had set, which was tomorrow evening. 

Seeing how futile this was, Changyoon asked the dreaded question, "What if we don't pay…" 

"They were very specific with that luckily!" Seungjun said overly cheerfully. "Kill us," he sang, waving jazzhands.

"Stop with the constant sarcasm."

"It's how I deal with stressful situations. I did just get threatened with a gun, let me be."

"Gun?!"

"Yes, so I'm fairly sure they weren't joking about murder."

"Why would you kill someone over just that amount of drugs?!" Changyoon exclaimed.

"I have no clue. How about you go up and ask? See if they feel like reasoning."

The jazz hands from before did remind Changyoon about Seungjun’s small wounds. He ignored the comment and grabbed the other’s hand. He noticed they were surprisingly big in comparison to his own, the fingers were long and elegant. Holding the hand steady, Changyoon noticed his heart pick up. The skin was soft, he unconsciously ran his thumb over Seungjuns palm, brushing some dirt off. He snapped out of it when Seungjun adjusted position; making him realise that he just softly caressed his friends hand. He felt his face warm up and kept his eyes firmly on the chafes, hoping his blush wasn't noticed. 

"Ah, that hurts," Seungjun hissed when Changyoon finally began to disinfect.

"No complaining," Changyoon teased before continuing, "What specifically happened?" Sitting hand in hand with Seungjun was making him nervous enough already, and the quiet just made his mind try and think of reasons why his heart was beating faster.

"They waited for me. I guess they didn't find the 'return to:' label in the bag and just waited at the dance hall. After practice they herded me to an alleyway and threatened me. They didn't seem to care for my explanation of it being a mistake and just answered by punching me in the face."

Changyoon hummed sympathetically, he still had the urge to hunt the guys, but knowing they had a gun definitely didn't make it quite as appealing. 

"Go shower, I might have an idea," Changyoon said after he was done with Seungjun’s hands. 

"What's your idea?"

"I'm gonna see if it works first."

Seungjun narrowed his eyes, "Okay…"  
He got up and went to the bathroom. Changyoon got the coolpack out, for when the other got back and grabbed his phone. Scrolling through the contacts; finding the name of someone he knew had money.  
The line beeped softly before a cheerful voice picked up.

"Hello! Park Minkyun speaking!"

"Hey, Kyun," Changyoon's low voice made Minkyun quickly grow concerned.

"Ah, Yoonie! What's wrong, you sound off?"

"I need your help, do you have time?"

"Yeah, I don't have anything to do currently."

"I need money," Changyoon started his story with. He quickly brushed over what happened last week, explaining everything to justify why he needs the money. Minkyun definitely didn’t believe him at first, which Changyoon couldn’t blame him for. But he didn’t seem too reluctant to offer his assistance.

"Sure I'll help you," Minkyun said after hearing Changyoon out.

"You're the best-"

"Not for free…" Minkyun cut him off.

Changyoon feared as much. 

"It's not too much money, so don't worry, and it's perfect timing actually,” Minkyun's tone was friendly, but Changyoon didn't trust it. "Perfect timing?" he answered

“I'm not going to just _give_

"What do you want us to do?"

"Are you guys free the whole of next week?"

"...Yes. Seungjun has his last day tomorrow and I'm still jobless, so we'll have ample time."

"How late is Seungjun done?" Minkyun asked.

Changyoon took a pause to calculate the time. "His exam is in the morning so I think he's home around noon," he guessed.

"Come to my house for dinner then."

"What do you want us to do?" Changyoon asked again.

"I'll tell you that tomorrow."

"Kyun, please, tell me."

"Nope, it'll be fine, it's nothing difficult. If you don't want to then I can send you to someone else that might help you pay."

"No, no," Changyoon said quickly, not wanting to borrow money from a stranger. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then. And thank you for helping me out."

"Can't wait to see you again, this feels like fate," Minkyun said. "Have a nice day," he added and hung up.

Changyoon sighed, he really didn’t want to ask Minkyun for help, because he knew how fickle he could be. You never knew what he was up to or what his ‘little favour’ could entail. Unfortunately, it was the only person Chanyoon knew he could rely on. He had known Minkyun since young but they lost contact, so calling after so many years just to ask for money felt very shady, but he was desperate.

"Who was that?" Seungjun started after he came back from the shower. 

“Minkyun...”

“Who?” Seungjun repeated.

“An old family friend of mine, they’re gonna help us out.”

Seungjun grew slightly suspicious, “how?”

“They have a lot of money. I used to go to their house all the time as a kid, his family has alway been rich. He is a bit of an odd person but the only one I could think of.”

“What’s the catch?”

“He asked for ‘a little favour’ but didn't explain what,” Changyoon informed.

“Well it’s a relief that we’re at least saved,” Seungjun sighed and tilted his head. “But you still seem uncertain.”

“Yeah, we fixed one problem, but Minkyun is another. I never know what he is up to… or what he’ll make us do.”

“We’ll deal with that later. When will he give us the money? The drugdudes told me to meet behind the grocery store at eight tomorrow, or they were gonna come find me…”

“Minkyun invited us for dinner tomorrow and is going to give me the money then.”

“Okay, okay,” Seungjun told himself as processed everything just said. “I’ll just go study some more then. I’m slightly behind on some stuff. Can you pick me up at the campus tomorrow then?”

“Yeah, sure. Take the coolpack with you," Changyoon reminded.

He let Seungjun do his thing and the evening went by normally. Neither were hungry with the stress so Changyoon finished the dinner and set everything in the fridge for tomorrow. After that he did some more job hunting while being incredibly nervous over the ‘little favour’. Even at night he kept tossing about what it could be. 

“Goodluck! You can do it!” Changyoon yelled when Seungjun left the house the next morning. He crawled back into bed, because he barely closed his eyes last night, and slept until Seungjun called him to pick him up and go to Minkyun. His bad feeling about the situation never left, not even when he saw the joyous face of his roommate when he talked about how well the exam went. The bruise had started to turn blue but seemed to be healing well.

Changyoon had no idea where Minkyun actually lived, he had just put the address into the GPS and expected to find a big house at the destination. 

He was incorrect.

The house definitely looked impressive, nothing Changyoon could ever afford, but it wasn’t as fancy as he imagined. He parked along the street. Seungjun trailed behind him as they walked up to the door. After not seeing Minkyun in so long, Changyoon wondered if he looked any different. He felt his hand tremble, reaching for the doorbell. 

The door swung open before he rang anything. 

“Hi!” Minkyun said excitedly. It felt a little comforting to Changyoon that the other hadn’t changed at all. Still the same goofy black hair, same dimple smile, same bad posture. 

“Perfect! You came just in time,” Minkyun said and gestured to them to walk into the house. Seungjun stayed close behind, being uncomfortable with Minkyun’s forward attitude. 

“So, so,” Minkyun said excitedly. “How’ve you been?”

“Uh, fine,” Changyoon replied, “i fnished college, lived with my friend for half a year and I’m now rooming with him while looking for a job," he added, pointing at Seungjun to explain who ‘him’ was.

“Ah, yes, your friend.” Minkyun scanned the skinny brown haired stranger in his hallway. “I’m Minkyun. Park Minkyun,” he greeted 

“Lee Seungjun,” the other mumbled, still a bit scared.

“Well. Follow me.” 

The dining room they then entered was decorated with a big table and a sparkly chandelier. Changyoon felt it was a little too classic of a 'rich person room'. He tore his eyes from the decorations when a broad, scary looking guy came walking from the kitchen with a big pan. Changyoon’s cold was getting a bit better, resulting in him noticing a scent of meat stew coming from the pot. 

“Thanks, Jaeyoung,” Minkyun said to the scary dude.

“No problem, I didn’t want to have the guest taste 

“Who is he?” Changyoon asked.

Minkyun just waved the question away, "don’t mind him. Come, sit. Tell me your story again, just to get some things straight.”

The duo did as they were told, finding a seat at the table and going over everything one final time. After Minkyun made fun of their dumb actions, he got reminded of the past and started sharing cute stories he remembered of Changyoon. They spent the rest of the diner reminiscing and catching up. 

“Alright, you agreed to do me a little favour in exchange for the money, right?” Minkyun asked when the conversation fell silent.

“Yes,” Changyoon muttered and looked at Seungjun, who also seemed unsure. 

Minkyun noticed their stress. “It’s nothing big,” he assured, “I just need something delivered somewhere, and I can’t exactly send it through the post.”

“What is it?” Changyoon asked hesitantly.

“That I cannot say.”

“We’re coming to you to save us from drugs people, don’t get us involved in more illegal things.”

“It’s nothing illegal, I swear.”

“Then why can’t you tell us?”

“I just can’t.”

Minkyun's refusal to relay information only made Changyoon grow more nervous, and looking at Seungjun’s shifting eyes, he wasn’t feeling confident either. 

“Well, if you promise it’s at least not illegal,” Changyoon emphasized, “then alright. We have no other choice.”

“Great! I’ll go fetch your money and I’ll see you tomorrow at 10 sharp alright?”

Seungjun nodded when Changyoon looked at him for a confirmation. 

“Okay, tomorrow at 10.”

Minkyun got up and guided them back to the hallway, leaving them there to rush to another room.

“Changyoon, are you sure about this?” Seungjun whispered when they were alone.

“Definitely not, but what else can we do?”

Seungjun let his shoulders fall, knowing no other way out.

“Hey, it’ll be alright,” Changyoon tried to lift the mood, “it'll be a fun trip!”

Seungjun smiled at Changyoon's attempt at positivity, but it didn’t look genuine. Changyoon felt that in this situation it would have been weirder to be excited, but he didn’t like seeing the other so pessimistic.

“That should be right about what you asked for," Minkyun said while handing over an envelope, "use the exceeding amount to shop for whatever you need for tomorrow.”

Seungjun spoke up in a soft voice, “should we bring anything?”

“Pack whatever you need for about a short week’s journey.” Minkyun smiled back.

“A week?!”

“A little less than that, but Changyoon said you guys had ample time.”

“But we already didn’t have the money to pay the people back, let alone for a long trip.”

“Don’t worry,” Minkyun grinned. “I’ll cover those costs.”

“Alright...”

“Okay then, have a nice day,” Minkyun opened the front door to let them out, waving them goodbye with kind but somehow sneaky eyes.

The car journey home was silent, both of them couldn’t believe they just signed up for a suspicious carrier job… and that after stealing drugs. Seungjun couldn’t help but start to chuckle. It slightly concerned Changyoon, but he joined in; agreeing to the ridiculousness of the situation. 

“Wait, go left,” Seungjun quickly said as he noticed Changyoon going on the wrong lane.

“Why?”

“You remember what we got this money for, right?”

“Ohyeah…” he said and quickly swerved back; making his way to the grocery store they were told to meet at.

“No, stay, they might get hostile if you suddenly join,” Seungjun said when Changyoon went to unbuckle his seatbelt.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll be alright,” Seungjun said with a smile; grabbing the exact amount of the envelope, and hopping out. 

“Wait!” Changyoon yelled at Seungjun, making the younger turn around, "take this.”

“What is it?” Seungjun asked while accepting the strange package.

“The leftover… flour.”

“You took that with you?!”

“I didn’t want to keep it in the apartment and throwing it away might’ve been dangerous.”

“I can’t believe you,” Seungjun groaned and turned around.

Changyoon checked what was left of the money: just about enough to buy some basics for a vacation. Seungjun came back unscathed, although a little shifty.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just met some not-so-fun people is all. But they accepted it and we should be fine.”

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Feeling a weight lift off his shoulder, Changyoon let out a groan. “Well, we survived one thing, we can do the next too,” he said, starting the motor and driving back home.

\----------

"So. You have to deliver this," Minkyun said when they met each other the next morning. He had placed a black briefcase on the table and given Changyoon a note with a few things scribbled on it. 

“Are we allowed to open the case?” Changyoon asked instantly, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Minkyun smiled, "you’re not even able to open it.”

After a quick scan, he indeed saw no easy way to open it. A number lock and two clips decorated a slim yet sturdy black case. Changyoon counted four numbers: too many combinations to try, and the strength of the case told him they needed quite the equipment to force it open 

“So, how about the cost? Where are we staying? How do we pay?”

“Just take this,” Minkyun said, handing over a card.

“You’re just going to give us that?!”

“I trust you to just use it responsibly.”

Changyoon felt a bit weird holding a thing that was connected to, probably, more cash he had ever had in his life. 

“Wait,” Seungjun said suddenly, looking up from his note with the route. “This goes to the next city, but then this,” he pointed at a line on the note, “what does ‘follow the deer’ mean?”

“The person you have to give the case to likes to be vague. Giving his location directly would be too dangerous, he says. So just follow the clues, you should find him,” Minkyun shrugged. “Is everything alright then?”

“I think so,” Seungjun mumbled. “We got what we would need this morning and if food, travel and hotels are paid for then it should be fine.”

Changyoon went over everything in his head before turning to Minkyun. “You’re really not going to tell us what we are carrying?” he tried one last time.

“Nope.”

“Alright.”

“Well then, Jaeyoung should be outside waiting for you to drive you to the station,” Minkyun said, signaling Changyoon and Seungjun to gather everything and head out. 

“This is it then,” Changyoon said when Minkyun closed the door and they were met with a black car ready for them.

“We’re really doing this,” Seungjun said in disbelief.

“I’m sorry for ever suggesting to bake anything.”

“This really all started with brownies, huh?”

“Yes…”

They looked at eachother, neither thought their innocent bonding session would turn out like this; with them becoming postmen for an unknown package. Changyoon gripped the suitcase handle tight.

“Shall we go then?”

Seungjun took a deep breath, and straightened his back.

“Yes. Let’s go.”


	2. The Hunt

So, here they were then. A weird briefcase, a vague note, an unfamiliar city and a card to pay for it all. 

A weird adventure to a destination he didn't know, with someone he barely knew… This is the last thing Changyoon had expected would be the outcome of baking brownies.

Trying to get himself over his hesitant feelings, he stepped out of the train that had brought them here; having Seungjun nearly step on his heels with how close he trailed behind. 

“It’ll be fine, relax, there’s nothing to worry about," Changyoon threw over his shoulder to somewhat try and ease the figure behind him, Seungjun looked nervous, staying close as a form of seeking safety.

“Yes, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Perfectly fine, we just got to deliver this thing that could explode any second for all we know, which we got after we stopped by someone to ask for drug money. Oh, and let’s not forget your friend just ‘had’ that amount, just whipped it up out of nowhere,” Seungjun rambled on as they got out of the station. “I also sure wonder who that weird fellow was, that looked like some president's bodyguard but was just there to cook us a nice meal," the sarcasm continued, "then he just left with no explanation only to come back in a black car with tinted windows to set us off at the station. Anyway, yes, let’s go search for that person that is too shady to just give us an address and wants us to follow deers of all things. This all feels perfectly _normal_ , what reason could I _possibly_ have to be worried?”

“Alright, Well... I know Minkyun is weird, and to be honest he’s only gotten weirder, but he’s a good guy, he wouldn’t give us anything dangerous. We were close when we were young, don’t badmouth him too much.”

“How are you so sure? This could be a bomb-”

“Seungjun, let’s stop talking about drugs and bombs out in the open like this,” Changyoon shushed, “I also don’t like this but let’s try to stay calm.” 

The switch in their approach to this situation felt a tad amusing to Changyoon. He remembered when they had just learned what they baked, how anxious he felt and how calm the other was, but now seeing Seungjun be so panicked made Changyoon want to stay strong and relaxed. "Let’s just do this normally," he reassured, "just follow the clues and get this over with quickly so we can go home and you can enjoy your well deserved vacation and I can continue job hunting.”

“Talking about home…”

“It’s alright, Kyun and I texted about that, he said he’d take care of the plants.”

Seungjun’s eyes widened. “You gave him our key?!”

“Oh, shit, I knew I forgot something.”

“Well just leave it. I watered them yesterday so they should be fine,” Seungjun concluded before continuing their walk.

The small city they were in seemed like any other, high office buildings, random shops, shady streets and a bunch of strangers minding their own business.  
Their back and forths finally stopped when they were met with a big statue of a deer right outside the station, the creature looked majestic, staring into the distance confidently with one leg lifted. Their first clue, the start to this whole thing. Both stared at the bronze animal, gathering up the courage to set this first step and begin their mission.

“We’ll get out of this right?” Seungjun said, his voice trembled slightly. The vibrations made Changyoon feel guilty.  
If he had not push the other so hard to do some stupid bonding exercise , if he had just waited for Seungjun so there was someone to smell that that definitely wasn’t flour, if he had just gotten a job earlier so they had more money; he wouldn’t have made the other look so terrified. But wallowing in self pity would get them nowhere so he just took a deep breath and focused.

“Yes, we will, I'll make sure of that.”

Driving home his statement, and trying to give Seungjun an extra boost in confidence, Changyoon grabbed the other’s hand as they followed the direction the deer was facing, not knowing what would be at the end or what they were looking for next. But walking in the same direction the animal faced, seemed like the most obvious thing to do since all they knew was ‘follow the deer’.

They walked in silence, keeping their palms connected, getting weird looks from people.  
But Changyoon didn’t care, Seungjun seemed more relaxed and that was way more important to him. 

Eventually, Changyoon started simple conversations to distract from the situation, he asked when Seungjun would get his exam results and what he had planned for his vacation before switching to general topics about their hobbies and families.  
Changyoon loved listening to the other and the more they talked the more Seungjun started to joke around, easing the tension. 

While it was Changyoon's idea, he got very conscious of their interlocked hands. He tried his best to focus on Seungjun's fun stories but the physical contact was definitely distracting. 

At the end of the street they found themselves staring at a big building, it seemed to just be a mix of multiple offices they weren’t allowed to go in and explore. 

“Let’s inspect the outside first,” Seungjun suggested and pulled Changyoon along into the alleyway. 

Seungjun shifted his eyes to their hands, smiled softly and let go as he looked at the walls they were walking past. They were covered in graffiti and band posters of different dates and artists.  
Changyoon didn’t even know what they were looking for. All they had was ‘deer’, no form or place nor any other details. Changyoon stared at the posters, hoping to find the animal in one of the designs or logos. 

“Changyoon,” Seungjun waved the other to come over, “maybe this?”

It took Changyoon a few seconds before he figured out what the other was staring at. A tiny painting of a deer marked one of the bricks between the posters. 

“How did you spot that?!” he exclaimed, seeing the tiny outline.

“I don’t know,” Seungjun shrugged. “My dance team also always said I have a weird eye for detail.”

While Changyoon was glad they found this so early, it felt a little too early, a little too easy. 

“Well, it’s facing towards the alley, so I guess we keep going?”

“Yeah, yeah seems fair,” Seungjun muttered.

“See,” Changyoon patted the other on the back. “We just have to find more of the little buggers. It’s like a fun treasure hunt, an extension of our baking bonding exercise… bake bonding… banding?... Bonking!”

“Uhm.”

“Ah, wait no, no, never mind,” Changyoon said quickly, making Seungjun giggle. Even if he made another fool of himself, with a less criminal outcome this time, it was fine since he got to hear the soft singing of Seungjun’s laugh. 

He shook his head when he caught himself staring at the other.

They followed the path of the sidealley, keeping in a straight line unless there was a one way turn. Buzzing of people became louder as they got out of the thin space and found themselves on another main road.

“Well"-Seungjun clapped his hands and breathed on them for warmth-“now what?”

“Dinner?”

“What? It’s like late afternoon,” Seungjun scoffed and took out his phone. 

“Nearly 5 p.m.” Changyoon thought aloud, “We haven’t really had lunch, and I know you didn’t eat breakfast having your stomach filled with nerves,” Changyoon said, poking a finger against the other’s ribs.

“Fine, what shall we have then?” Seungjun gave in.

"Hmm, let's just walk for a bit, see what shop smells the best."

With a small grin, Seungjun followed the other who confidently paced down the street, remarking on weird shop names or nice decorations. Eventually the sweet smell of dumplings made Changyoon decide on their restaurant for the evening. Luckily, they still had a spot, and they were seated in a corner at a table for two. It was a nice, bright, simple restaurant.

"Let's not care about pricing, alright?" Changyoon said. "We got Kyun's card after all, and a good meal is important for a trip."

"We shouldn't go overboard, however."

"C'mon, just eat, pick what you want."

They did just that, eating as royally as you could in this small restaurant, the only non-extravagant thing was the lack of alcohol, for obvious reasons. Finally, they managed to get to know each other better. Changyoon went to ask some deeper questions than during their walk this afternoon, even if it was under odd circumstances, it was nice. Just for a second, they forgot their ‘treasure hunt’ of sorts and just enjoyed their time as they encouraged each other and made fun predictions about who they could meet and what was in the case.

Only when Changyoon had swiped Minkyun's card and grabbed the briefcase again, did the hunt continue.

Seungjun slung their bag over his shoulder. Before this trip they had made sure to pack as little as possible; knowing they had to drag it everywhere. Somehow everything fitted into one big rucksack. 

Setting off with full stomachs and a new resolve; they retraced some of their steps, going back to the same alleyway to properly eye the street again. They could barely scan any walls for more drawings as the streets were busy. 

“Maybe it’s not always drawings?” Seungjun suggested after he heard Changyoon mumble some of his thoughts out loud. “We found a statue at the start too.”

“Hm, yeah.”

He shifted his focus, trying to look for anything ‘deer’ related. 

“Okay, this might sound dumb,” Changyoon started. “But we can look there?” he said and pointed to one of the restaurants, a small italian place.

Seungjun tilted his head. “Why?”

“Read the name.”

“Dear Mama.”

“Yes…” Changyoon made a rolling motion with his hand. “Say it again…”

“Dear… Oooohhh dear, deer, yes. Alright, I guess?” Seungjun said, his tone was a little uncertain. “We have no better clue. Let’s just remember this street and check the restaurant for now.” 

They walked over to the italian place. It had simple yellow and white curtains and smelled like tomato sauce. Feeling awkward just staring into a restaurant, they kept a fair distance as they scanned around. Luckily it didn’t take long before they found a small deer ornament in the windowsill neighbouring the restaurant. As they followed their new hint, they kept their path steady, finding drawings, names, or ornaments relating to the animal. Sometimes it was antlers pointing a specific way, sometimes there were footprints painted along the path, or it was just a full body pointing them in weird alleyways, busy streets or creepy undergrounds. They kept it light, trying to make the best of the situation. Scaring each other when the tension rose, laughing at the weirdness of some clues or just talking about childhood memories or hobbies until the sun started to go down.  
“So, let’s just remember this one,” Changyoon said as he took a picture of a small graffiti painting of a deer. “We’re really going to have to just keep following them? I wonder how many there are…”

“True, we’re a fair bit away from the first station, but shouldn’t we keep going a little further?” Seungjun pushed.

“Dude, your dancer legs might be used to this much exercise but mine are rusty. Let’s get some evening snacks and find a hotel," Changyoon argued. "Since we are trying to look for anything vacant today, we shouldn’t leave too little time to look for a room.”

Changyoon’s rationality convinced Seungjun to follow him to a grocery store to grab whatever for when they got peckish later.  
Finding a hotel room went surprisingly smooth, there were a few in the neighbourhood and the third they visited had a place free. It was a fairly luxurious room for just two people. The interior was a soft shade of brown and reds and the lights were dim, making the room feel cosy on this cold night. Somehow, being in a room, safe inside, choosing to pause the hunt for today, it made the tiredness fall over them. It all was going so fast, they had only arrived here this morning, only closed this deal yesterday, and now they were already on the outskirts of some city after hours of walking. Changyoon kicked off his shoes to give his sore feet some space and fell on one of the beds. 

“Shall I shower first then?” Seungjun asked.

“Yes, sure," Changyoon sighed, "let me decompress for a second.”

Changyoon stared at the ceiling as he went over what happened the past week for the nth time, still not believing it. Eventually he closed his eyes, feeling his body grow heavy and sink into the dense hotel sheets. No matter how many times he replayed everything it was all too much to keep track of, he couldn’t place most events properly, they all blended together. The only clear images were of Seungjun, either being scared, laughing, searching, just anything he had done was all Changyoon could place properly, the only way he felt he wasn’t losing his mind.

“-yoon… Changyoon.” A soft shaking got Changyoon out of his near sleeping state. A comforting look and smell greeting him as he was told to wash up.

“Don’t fall asleep in the shower,” Seungjun sang as Changyoon closed the bathroom door behind him. He shook his head to try and ignore the fast beating of his heart. He felt too tired to think about that currently, and also really felt like this wasn't the situation to contemplate such feelings.  
At least, that's what his mind told him.

No matter how awake Seungjun had pretended he was, when Changyoon got out of the shower, he was fast asleep. He looked peaceful. The freshly washed, short strands of hair laid over his face softly, hiding some of the fading bruise. With such a calming image in mind, Changyoon himself finally fell asleep as well. 

\------------------

“Wake up!” Seungjun yelled.

Changyoon sat up instantly hearing the panic. 

“Huh? What?” he asked with a rasp in his voice and was answered with a piece of paper shoved in his hands. The paper had a scribble of a deer on it, facing Changyoon. 

But there was something different about it. 

Its eyes were replaced by crosses.

“Where did you find this?" Changyoon asked softly, feeling a small fear set in.

“On my side table…” Seungjun answered, his voice trembling slightly. 

"Was there anything else?"

Seungjun shook his head, "no, it was just that drawing."

Changyoon folded the paper and got up. “Let’s get out quickly. What time is it?”

“12 p.m. we have about an hour before we need to check out.”

“12?!”

“Yes, neither of us set an alarm clock,” Seungjun mumbled absentmindedly.

“Hey, don’t be so stressed-”

“Someone just broke into our hotel room and left us a creepy drawing.”

“I know,” Changyoon mumbled, understanding this isn’t the time to be forcing cheerfulness. “Let’s just get out of here; finish this thing.” 

Changyoon looked at the paper one more time, not seeing anything of use apart from it being a threat. He ran a couple of questions through his mind: was someone hunting them? Is the dead deer a message that the person they were trying to find died? Would this be their final day?

Changyoon tried to shake the uneasiness uselessly and went to change his clothes before jotting the note in his jeans and grabbing the briefcase again. Their nerves kept them silent as they checked out of the hotel.  
Seungjun’s fist stayed firmly around their backpack as it hung over his tense shoulders, the safe feeling they built up yesterday had evaporated in one second with one, simple, piece of paper.

Having retraced their steps, they continued from where they left off yesterday. The further they went the more anxious they became. Neither were hungry so they skipped breakfast, which was basically lunch at this point, and silently found more deer. Sometimes, either of them tried to start a small conversation but it tended to die out fast. They slowly made their way further to the outskirts, finding streets that were less and less populated, until it became late. Their dinner Changyoon tried to turn the atmosphere around somewhat, but Seungjun didn't seem in the mood; giving polite yet short answers or hums to the other's questions and stories. 

“We should find another hotel,” Changyoon said, seeing the stars come out above the emptying streets they walked on after dinner. With the coldness of the night, people huddled up in their homes; leaving the duo alone outside.

“I don’t want to go to one yet,” Seungjun answered. “Nothing happened during the day, so who knows what will happen if we go to a hotel again.”

“But us walking outside during the night isn’t exactly safe either.”

“I know but…”

“Wanna hold my hand again?” Changyoon jested and extended his hand with a bright smile. “It calmed you down yesterday.”

“Don’t make fun of me.”

Changyoon turned his tone more serious. “I’m not, come,” he pushed, keeping his hand out. Seungjun rolled his eyes and lifted his hand to meet the other’s.

They both froze. 

It was nearly inaudible, but enough to make either heart stop, make them both hold their breath.  
Metal softly clinked on the ground. Both were too afraid to look, fearing the worst. Their eyes met each other, wanting to ask questions but not wanting to know the answers. They let their vision finally trail to the pavement and saw it glisten.

Both were right.

A bullet.

Just laying on the stone, clean, like a threat; purposefully missed.

Seeing the metal shine in the night, made Changyoon’s instinct take over. He grabbed Seungjun’s hand and set off. He didn't care about following those deer. All he knew was to get out.

They sprinted along the empty streets. 

Again, they didn't hear it, but he felt it. It didn't touch him. But the sheer force and power of the bullet flying right past Changyoon's face gave him another boost of adrenaline. The streets were too open, which his company thought too. Seungjun, being the faster one, yanked Changyoon into the nearest alleyway and ran through the alleys between the houses. Running across another main street before hiding in another stone maze. 

“What…. What was that?” Changyoon started with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

“Bullet, that was a bullet right? We got shot at? We got shot at. Oh my fucking god we got shot at.” 

“Yes, yes, but maybe it was a coincidence?”

“The street was empty, it was just us, we got that creepy note and have a mysterious package, I’m pretty sure they did mean to aim at us.”

“Well they missed, right?” Changyoon said as he ran his eyes over Seungjun’s slim figure. “You’re fine, right?”

“Yeah, I am. You too?”

“Yea-”

Another object flew past them, but it went slowly, fluttering down gently. 

A feather.

A single raven’s feather guided their vision to the ground. It just laid there. Motionless.  
No birds flew over, especially no ravens. They looked at each other in confusion before looking up, wondering where this perfect feather came from. Changyoon’s heart, which had just started to calm down somewhat, instantly jumped back into his throat. He felt his muscles stiffen again as the fear grabbed hold of them. A hand waved at them. Just the silhouette of a hand stuck out from the roof of the house next to them. Moving in front of the moon shining bright in the sky. The hand waved at them cheerfully, like a predator playing with it’s prey, letting it know it was there to enjoy the chase a little more. 

Changyoon felt another tug on his arm and was dragged further by Seungjun. His mind was hazy, his vision was blurry, so he focused on following the other’s guidance and holding the briefcase tight.

The few people they did pass looked at them confused, not knowing the danger running along the rooftops that chased the duo.  
Changyoon didn’t look back, didn’t try to look for their hunter, just kept running until his lungs hurt. The freezing air his body desperately tried to get in, scorched his throat, but he knew to ignore it. Seungjun seemed to turn corners aimlessly, just picking whatever route felt the most sheltered.

“Jun,” Changyoon huffed to get the other’s attention, “Seungjun,” he tried again and slowed his pace, pulling Seungjun into a softer pace as well. “We’re going to get lost.”

“We have our phones, it’s fine, keep going.”

“You don’t even know where you are going, what if we run right into them?”

“Standing still will be worse. Let’s go,” Seungjun persisted and continued their aimless run.  
The idea of hiding in a cafe crossed Changyoon's mind, but he didn’t want to bring more people in danger, and Seungjun appeared to think the same given he kept to empty spaces. After running longer than either had in their entire lives they hid again in a back street.  
Having overused his muscles, Changyoon sat down against a wall. Seungjun scanned around him, looking consternated, shifting his eyes to the rooftops around them every so often. His body was trembling, fright, anxiety and exhaustion made him lose control of his muscles. Changyoon couldn’t blame him, he was barely conscious of his own movement. 

“Now what?” Changyoon started.

The trembling of Seungjun’s body affected his vocals just the same, “I don’t know,” he said softly. 

Changyoon ran multiple options through his mind.

Hearing ‘oh no’ in the tiniest voice as Seungjun stared at the sky, made Changyoon instantly jump up and yank Seungjun further. In his rushed ascent, Changyoon tripped and caught himself on one hand. 

The thud of the briefcase hitting the ground echoed ominously through the night. 

It made Changyoon stop for a second to hope that whatever was in there could take the fall. He quickly stood up and set off again. They rushed further and found another main street, the same main street, they had run in a circle. He looked around and saw a couple standing on the other side.

"What's with them?" Seungjun thought out loud.

"What do you mean? Who cares, we need to find shelter we can't keep running."

"No, Changyoon, look." 

Giving into the other, Changyoon observed the couple but nothing seemed weird. Just an average duo on an evening walk. He stared at them far past the appropriate time. "What's with them? They look normal."

With an open mouth and wide eyes Seungjun stared at the couple on the streets, as if he had just seen them combust and walk further like nothing happened. The look of confusion made Changyoon grow concerned and it pushed him to ask: "are you alright?"

"Uhm, I don't know. I… I…"

"What? What did you see?" Changyoon insisted but Seungjun pressed a hand against his forehead, scrunching his face into one of pure disbelief.

"I…" he tried again.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know."

Another gunshot.

It flew past Changyoon's hand, scaring him enough to flick his arm and accidentally throw the briefcase in a small arch. He quickly grabbed the case right as it hit the ground again. 

"God, I'll break this thing. Maybe you should keep it," Changyoon joked, making Seungjun roll his eyes and sigh: "just keep running." 

Changyoon held onto the other’s wrist as they ran to the street and both halted their movement. 

A strange image met them on the street

They pulled the same confused face, looking awestruck by a bird. 

A simple pigeon.

It was mid take off. Flapping its wings inch by inch, nearly frozen. They stared at the bird, not believing what they saw. In a split second it regained its control and continued its flight in a hurry. Changyoon and Seungjun both jumped at the sudden increase in movement. 

“You-... you saw that too right?” Seungjun started hesitantly.

“The bird, just not moving?” Changyoon said with a baffled tone. “Yeah, yeah I think I saw that.”

“Think?”

“I mean… I don’t know if that was real.”

“Well, I think it is.”

“How?!”

Seungjun lowered his voice, as if he didn’t want anyone to hear even though they were alone. “Remember the couple I pointed at before?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, they had the same. The slow motion.”

“What do you mean? How?"

"I don't know…" Seungjun mumbled, "it was like time had stopped."

"What?”

“I don’t know, but we are out in the open," Seungjun reminded the other, "let’s keep moving and continue somewhere safer.”

After a nod, Changyoon followed Seungjun down the street. 

Finding a relatively clean alleyway they sat down next to each other, resting their minds and bodies in an attempt to process the night.  
They sat in silence, both just making sure their own thoughts stopped spinning. Changyoon retraced everything that just happened slowly. How this all started with baking, somehow led them to a city where they followed deer to the edge of the city, and then got chased by some mysterious gunman... 

The gunman.

Changyoon looked up, trying to spot another feather or a waving hand. But he was just met with the moon, surrounded by bright stars, a calming view. While staring at the night sky, the adrenaline ebbed away and a tiredness fell over him. His eyelids felt heavy and his muscles hurt. His mind kept yelling to run further, that nothing would be safe. Yet his body informed him that this was its limit, reminding him to work out more.  
He nearly dozed off but got shaken up when a soft voice filled the silence.

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Seungjun said, staring at the ground in disbelief.

Changyoon bit his lip in frustration, hating how worried the other looked. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“We both know it’s my fault.”

“I mean, wasn’t it me who took the wrong bag?” Seungjun said with a small giggle. 

“All ‘cuz I forced you to bake.”

A soft smile replaced the anxious look in Seungjun’s eyes, “It’s alright. There's nothing we can do about it.”

“Still.”

A joking scoff left Seungjun's lips, “it’s not like you to be mopey."

“I’m just worried.”

Seungjun rested his head on the other’s shoulder, “me too,” he admitted. 

He shuffled closer, softly laying his fingers over the top of Changyoon’s hand, who went to distract his mind with it: turning his hand around and intertwining their fingers as he started playing with the digits. He found it funny; while they were almost the same height, Seungjun’s hands were a lot bigger. They matched his thin build. They were elegant.  
Seungjun was elegant in general, Changyoon found. 

Even in the short time they had known each other Changyoon observed the other’s mannerisms. Everything Seungjun did had a certain flair to it, maybe it was his dancers background, or just his natural flamboyance, but Changyoon loved watching the other. Seungjun was detailed yet playful; focussing on the small things and doing nothing half heartedly yet still being joyful and chaotic. 

Changyoon felt his heart pick up when Seungjun started playing against him, tickling over the palm of the other’s hand. It took the feeling of fear out of him for a second, but it filled him with a contrasting, warm feeling. One that made something flutter. He sighed when he noticed, finding that now is not the time for this.

“Are we going to spend the night on the street?” Seungjun asked eventually.

“We shouldn’t,” Changyoon answered, feeling the cold of the night get to him. “Are there any hotels open?”

“What if the guy kills us at night.”

“I don’t think he will.”

“He got into our room before.”

“Out in the open here he will find us for sure. And if he wanted to find us he already would've.”

Seungjun seemed unsure, uncomfortable, and Changyoon couldn’t blame him, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t scared himself. But Seungjun had started to tremble because of the cold, so Changyoon at least wanted to find shelter.

“Come,” Changyoon spurred and softly pushed the other off his shoulder, “let’s find a bed.”

With a soft sigh, Seungjun followed the command and stood up. He stretched his muscles, massaging his thighs as they had turned sore from the overuse. They went to look for a hotel in silence, both were tired and anxious. Changyoon took the initiative to ask around in some bars for the nearest open hotel. With them now at the outskirts, there weren’t any signs pointing to a sleeping place. After being pointed to go a few streets away, they continued their journey until they were offered a hotel room.  
It was a two person bed, but both of them were too tired and it was also too late to be picky over a place to stay. They were happy enough to get a roof over their head, so they accepted the room.

Seungjun seemed unknowing of what to do when they entered their room. He just stood there, not moving. 

“Hey, it’s alright,” Changyoon tried to console the other, but he was just as scared and confused himself.

“Will it?”

“I said I’ll make sure we would get out, didn’t I?”

“How?!” Seungjun suddenly turned hostile, “How are you going to get a sniper off our back?”

“I don’t know.”

“Call Minkyun, have him explain this.”

“It’s nearly 4am, do you think he will wake up?”

“Call him.”

“Alright, alright,” Changyoon gave in and grabbed his phone to dial his friend. He listened to the beeping of the line until the friendly robot woman started saying he reached a voicemail. Seungjun rolled his eyes when the other closed his phone again.

“Oh, come on.”

“Relax,” the other tried to shush him but it just made the other increase his volume. “Changyoon! I don’t want to die because of some dumb mistake you made.”

“You won’t die.”

“We. Got. Shot. At.”

Changyoon let out a breath. He understood the other’s outburst, it was late, stressful and dangerous. He was just dragged along because of one of Changyoon’s whims. He had every right to be angry.

“If you want to. I’ll finish this thing alone,” he suggested. He didn’t want to, having Seungjun close was the only thing that he was enjoying on this trip. But it would be fair for him to go back.

“If you’re alone you’ll definitely die. Let’s just go back home and make Minkyun explain himself.”

“No trains are running at this time. And I am not going back home.”

“Why?!” Seungjun yelled, “You’re dumb if you want to continue this!”

“I don’t _want_ to continue this,” Changyoon emphasized, “But I have to.”

“I would never have agreed to this if I knew we would get shot at. Minkyun promised this was nothing dangerous.”

“Well, he only said that the package wasn’t illegal…”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Look, Seungjun,” Changyoon sighed to reset the conversation, “I am finishing this. I don’t want to have that debt and I also promised Minkyun I would deliver this. I feel it’s not long anymore so I’ll keep going. But I understand if you want to take the first train home tomorrow.”

“You’re an idiot,” Seungjun muttered, “god, you’re so dumb. But I’m not leaving you alone…”

“It’s fine. It’s alright to go, I understand.”

“No. No, we started this together so we stay together,” Seungjun sighed and softened his tone a bit, “And if I can’t get your ass on a train home, I guess I’m staying.” 

He turned around, walked into the bathroom and soon after the shower was running.

Changyoon used the time to just sit on the bed and be in his own head for a bit. He felt a little relieved that the other stayed but the fact that this was basically all his fault, made him feel guilty. He didn’t like seeing Seungjun like that. He had enjoyed his time the first day and he hated how sour it turned right the next morning. This whole day was a rollercoaster, the only consistent thing was that he kept pushing away a certain fluttering which bothered him. Deep down he knew exactly what that was and where it came from. This just really wasn’t the time nor the situation to act upon it. Even if it was, he wasn’t sure if he should. Living with someone who rejected you would be a little more than awkward.  
He also wasn’t sure how to read the other; if Seungjun accepted the affection and hand holding because he was just scared or if there was a more romantic reason for it.  
But being in love with your roommate and seeing them get a partner because you yourself were a coward wasn’t a situation Changyoon was looking forward to. Instead, he promised himself that he would confess as soon as they got home. 

Seungjun came out of the bathroom and Changyoon walked past him to do his own routine. After he had made that promise to himself, he felt a little more relaxed, at least he gave those feelings a place. 

When he settled underneath the sheets Changyoon grew a faint smile. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, noticing how tense Seungjun still was. 

“Don’t be. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“You have every right to.”

“I don’t, I’m just tired.”

“I understand that, a lot has happened today.”

Seungjun sat up to grab his phone. “How late shall we wake up?” he asked before being told a short ‘11 a.m.’ and setting their alarm.

“How are you doing, by the way?” Changyoon whispered when the lights were turned off.

"I don't know," Seungjun muttered and shuffled underneath the sheets, "this all went so fast."

"Do you think you can sleep at least?"

"Hopefully. It's late enough, and my body is tired," Seungjun hummed, but it sounded a little unsure.

"It'll be alright," Changyoon assured. 

Seungjun mumbled something inaudible. The small voice made Changyoon just want to shuffle over and take him into his arms, but he kept it to just finding the other's slim hands underneath their shared blanket.

"Isn't it weird to hold your friend’s hand so often?" Seungjun asked. The way he spoke told the other he was smiling. 

“Are you complaining?" 

He didn't get a response to that. Seungjun only giggled softly and played with the other's hand. Now that he had consciously evaluated his feelings, Changyoon was more than aware of them and with every tap of the other’s fingers his heart skipped a beat.

“Everything is going to be fine right?” Seungjun asked.

“Yeah. This whole thing sucks, but as long as you’ll stay with me, I’ll make sure it’ll be alright,” Changyoon mumbled mindlessly before his lids closed and he fell asleep.

\-------------------

The first note of an annoying alarm woke him up. He opened his eyes, rolled onto his back and instantly closed his eyes again to endure the sheer pain rushing through his body. Every single inch of every muscle ached. When he looked to his left, the sight of a peacefully sleeping Seungjun made him forget all about it. He looked a little puffy from the heavy sleep, giving him a soft, round look.

It amused Changyoon that the other was somehow sleeping through the fairly obnoxious sound coming from his phone. He didn’t seem the type to be a deep sleeper somehow.

The morning was calm. Changyoon had checked both bedside tables but there was no ominous note anywhere. It meant that either, the hunt had stopped or there was never a break and they just lucked out on not being killed during the night. He felt better after a full night's rest. Although his body didn’t appreciate him moving, Changyoon went to shake Seungjun softly.

The instant Seungjun moved any part of his body, he groaned.

“Are you sore?” Changyoon said through a giggle.

Seungjun’s eyes cussed at the other for the remark before he turned around and grabbed his phone. Changyoon went to look at his own and saw a notification from Minkyun pop up.

Minkyun: [Why did you call me at 4am?!]  
[Also I watered your plants.]

The last message had a picture attached. A picture of Minkyun with a stupid grin... in their apartment. 

“Say, Seungjun…”

“Hm?”

“I said I hadn’t given Minkyun our key, right?”

Seungjun took a second to recount what the other had told him as he went to sit up. “Yeah, you said you forgot. Why?”

Changyoon turned his phone to the other to show the dimples stood in their apartment.

“How did he get in…?”

“No clue.”

“Call him.”

“Good plan.”

Changyoon instantly dialed Minkyun and cleared his throat when the beeping started.

“Hello!” a cheerful voice called through the phone.

“Minkyun?” Changyoon asked.

“Yepp, what’s up?”

“Several things.”

“Oh, sounds like a lot. Where shall we start?”

“First thing. I never gave you my key did I?” Changyoon asked

“...I’m sure you did.”

“I’m sure I didn’t.”

“Well. I promised to water your plants every other day.”

“How did you get in though?”

“I promised I would water your plants...”

“Kyun…”

“It’s not even noticeable,” Minkyun argued, “And I locked everything back up when I left.”

“Did you break into our fucking apartment?!”

“...I promised I would water your plants…”

“Kyun… You know what... Alright, thanks,” Changyoon sighed, “next-”

“You’re welcome!” Minkyun interrupted and instantly hung up. Changyoon looked at his phone, a bit dumbfounded.  
He closed his eyes to relax a slight rage boiling up in him and dialed Minkyun _again_.

“Hello?” Minkyun answered with a confused tone.

“I wasn’t done yet…”

“Oh, oh, sorry…”

After another calming sigh, Changyoon continued his questioning, “Who is chasing us?”

Minkyun kept silent for a few seconds. “What now?” he asked.

“Someone is chasing us.”

“What do you mean?”

“We got shot at last night.”

“Oh, fuck…”

“Do you know who it is?” Changyoon looked to his left and Seungjun was staring at him expectantly so he put the phone on speaker, “Seungjun can hear you too,” he informed Minkyun.

“Alright.” Minkyun took a pause and his tone went from joyful to professional. “I hadn’t told you this because I hoped that this wouldn’t happen. But yes, there is someone that wants to steal that thing from you.” 

The others stayed quiet so Minkyun just continued his explanation. “It’s the whole reason I couldn’t send this through the post, it needed to be protected.”

“Then why give it to us?!” Changyoon exclaimed, “how are we supposed to deal with it?!”

“I hoped that because they didn’t know you two they wouldn’t suspect you to be carrying it.”

“What is it even?” Seungjun then asked, “we saw some really weird things last night.”

“I cannot say, I am sorry, we don’t know if they have intercepted this call. Just keep going and be as quick as possible,” Minkyun said in a low tone, “we can’t have it fall into their hands.”

“Who is ‘they’? Who is chasing us? Minkyun, please explain.”

“I can’t. I’m sorry…” Minkyun repeated, “just, protect that thing. Good luck,” he added and hung up. Changyoon instantly called him again but he was only met with a robot voice telling him the number was not reachable.

“So we’re gonna have to figure this out ourselves?”

“Seems so…”

Changyoon let his head fall in his hands, but Seungjun had a sudden resolve. He settled on the side of the bed and grabbed the briefcase from under their bed. With a quick spin of the case he went to inspect every side. Seemingly his fear and anger had turned into determination for answers, overnight. “If he won’t explain, let's just open this thing up.”

“Why now suddenly?”

“Aren’t you curious?!”

“Well yeah,” Changyoon answered and stretched his arms, “but it’s Minkyun’s stuff, we shouldn’t snoop around.”

“True, but I can’t function with my curiosity sparked,” Seungjun persisted. “And might I remind you of the fact that we both saw weird things yesterday. The only thing different in our life is this case, maybe it's linked.”

“True…”

“Also,” Seungjun continued, “Minkyun never said we aren’t allowed to open the case, he just said we aren’t able to,” he hummed in a know-it-all tone, “So, it seems to be a 4 number code.”

Changyoon didn’t trust it. “Are you sure this is a good idea? If it’s linked should we really go around playing with it?”

“Tell me some dates Minkyun might want to remember,” Seungjun continued. 

Understanding that the other was going to keep ignoring any argument, Changyoon gave in, “Alright. Although, the last time I properly spoke to him was about 10 years ago. I only text him annual congratulatory messages.”

Seungjun looked at him with an arched brow, “and?”

“How am I supposed to remember any dates…?”

“Try.”

“Hmmmm…. Maybe his birthday? November 16th?”

Seungjun shook his head after failing to open it with that combination. 

Trying his best to remember random Minkyun trivia as he stared at the ceiling, Changyoon gave Seungjun more numbers to put in, but none worked. He had nearly given up when he had the dumbest idea. He remembered Minkyun often lived by 'they won't believe the simplest answer' logic. 

“Wait…” he started, “I really hope this isn’t the case, but try just all zero.”

“Really?”

“What’s there to lose?”

Seungjun set all the numbers to zero and a soft ‘click’ signalled the briefcase opening. Changyoon slapped his forehead and sighed, somehow disappointed yet not surprised. 

“Minkyun’s reasoning would work, unless you tell that to other people,” Changyoon thought to himself. He quickly crawled up and sat down next to Seungjun. They held their breath while Seungjun opened the lid. 

For some reason, Changyoon expected some cool smoke to exit the briefcase, or some blue neon light to flicker on as an awesome gadget rose out of the case, but nothing like that happened.  
It felt a bit anticlimactic, but also reassuring.

Seungjun flipped open the lid and they looked at the contents.  
A soft, foam bedding decorated the inside. In a carefully cut shape laid a small watch. It looked normal yet expensive, but fairly bulky. It had a black band, black clockwork with a white background and gold clock hands. Small gold gears surrounded the inside.  
The glass covering the watch was cracked, and the little gear on top also seemed wonky.

They both feared taking it out, it seemed incredibly expensive and, frankly, broken. On top of that, if it had some unknown ability neither felt like they should play with it randomly. 

"Alright. Now what?" Seungjun started, not removing his vision from the portable clock.

"Do… Do you think I smashed it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well I smacked the briefcase on the ground twice," Changyoon reminded the other.

"Let's hope you didn't," Seungjun said. "Who knows how many death runs we'd have to do to pay this thing back."

Changyoon let out a nervous snicker at that joke. “But… now what?” he continued, staring at the fragile watch.

With a slight tremble in his hand, Seungjun touched the clock, running his finger over the metal. He softly pried the watch out of its nest, using careful movements to not break the object further. 

The metal of the band clinked gently when it was lifted. 

"Are you sure we should take it out?" Changyoon said nervously.

"Uhm, no. But I’m sure it’s fine."

"It could have exploded…"

"Weren’t you the one that said Minkyun wouldn’t give us anything dangerous?"

With a slight roll of his eyes, Changyoon took the watch out of Seungjun's hand, wanting to inspect it for himself. It felt like any other watch, not any heavier than it should be. The only thing that set it apart was that it felt powerful, mysterious. Something about it just, felt off.

Wondering what this thing might achieve; Changyoon placed a finger on the wonky looking cog at the top. It turned as soon as he tapped it, feeling loose in its mechanism. He quickly took his hand back and looked to his left, waiting for a scolding for nearly breaking this thing further. However, Seungjun stayed motionless, too motionless, unnatural. 

“Seungjun?” Changyoon asked when the other seemed to be mid blink, moving inch by inch. Changyoon’s body shuddered and he got a headache, it refused to believe this for a second. Being in a silent state, frozen world, he barely processed it, his mind still wondered if it wasn’t just a trick. It felt claustrophobic; like being the only one in the world. It scared him, Seungjun was so close yet unapproachable. He tried to calm himself and assess the situation objectively. He told himself how this stopped last too so this would be over again as well. After convincing himself of that fact, he tried to investigate a little. 

The sheets he was sitting on felt like concrete flooring, nothing moved anymore nor could he move anything. It was as if he wasn’t in this world, as if he was in a picture version of the room. 

He placed a hand on Seungjun's shoulder, hoping to maybe shake him awake, but he couldn't even get him to move. It was like pushing against a wall.  
He leaned in closer to maybe meet the other’s eyes. 

He had just tilted his head when Seungjun blinked and jumped back.

"Wow!" Seungjun cried out and clutched his chest, "Don't scare me like that," he huffed, "how did you get here?"

"Uhm, it seems I stopped time… I think."

"Stopped? What?"

"Yeah, you moved incredibly slowly, nearly motionless, like the pigeon," Changyoon explained.

"But with the pigeon, I also saw it. And with the couple too."

"Hm, true," Changyoon mumbled, "What did you see just now?"

"Nothing, you just seem to have teleported from sitting next to me, to being in my face,” Seungjun had a slight blush, “What were you even planning…?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just wanted to see if I could move you."

“Ah, okay,” Seungjun smiled softly before moving on. "How long did it last?"

"I don't know, time didn't really seem real. I'd guess about a minute? Maybe a little longer?" Changyoon answered. 

Seungjun grabbed the watch out of Changyoon’s hand, fiddled with it a bit and within a blink, he vanished.

“Seungjun?” Changyoon said carefully, while scanning the room. “Seungjun?!” he tried again. Not getting an answer, and not being able to spot the other within this room, Changyoon walked to the bathroom.

“Boo!!” Seungjun yelled and hopped out from the bathroom, making the other jump. 

“Oh god! Seungjun please. Why?!”

“Seemed funny,” the other shrugged and stared at the watch, “so this thing really does stop time?”

“Does it really?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense then.”

“But that one time with the pigeon we both saw it…” Changyoon muttered, “so there is a way to achieve that.”

“Hmm… Well, let’s find that out on the way,” Seungjun suggested while walking to the bed to put the watch back.

They both got ready and set off for another day, after a short breakfast. Yesterday was confusing, but today they had to focus. Seungjun seemed to be on board again with this trip, maybe it was the sleep he got or the duty placed upon them, but he was determined. Changyoon held the briefcase and grabbed his phone so they could go trace the last deer they found. The last deer they found before being met with a hunter. 

“Well, let’s keep our eyes open today,” Changyoon said when they stepped foot outside the hotel, “we can’t let that gunman take this thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wohoo finally chapter 2!! I have the rest planned out already so the wait for the final chapter should be a little less... hopefully.
> 
> thank you for sticking with it!
> 
> x fae

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I'm having fun with big stories lately idunno why.  
> Not that they are any good but I'm having fun. 
> 
> Two big stories running together might not be the smartest but I know I'll manage them :]
> 
> Thanks for Abi&Kami for helping me plot some of this out!  
> and GG and Phi for betareading this and hearing me cry about it a bunch, and helping me with the next chapter...
> 
> Don't know why but you can follow my twitter?? [FaeFauna](https://twitter.com/Faefauna) 18+!!


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